The Card Apprentice

“What’s that on your back?” Chen Mu asked, curious.

Xiaobo seemed to fancy making gaudy things like that. He was extremely talented at it, too. Even as a card master, Chen Mu couldn’t figure out how the glowing halo had been made. It didn’t seem to be merely fashionable; he could feel a faint yet strange fluctuation from it.

“Heh, cool, isn’t it? I spent quite a lot of time on this.” Xiaobo grinned. “I call it the Orderly Wave Wheel. Everyone thinks it’s cool, man! Even Mr. Bogner eyed it for a long time!”

“Orderly Wave Wheel…” Chen Mu chewed at the words carefully. The wave it emitted was subtle. Even Chen Mu could only feel a faint sign of it.

He then nudged Xiaobo. “Let’s go get you a mask first, yeah?”

“A mask? Come on, Boss. Why do you want to hide my handsome face?” Xiaobo objected with a frown.

As one of the pioneers in mask fashion, Chen Mu was slightly surprised himself at how mask shops were everywhere now. Xiaobo reluctantly chose a mask filled with white chrysanthemum patterns. Paired with his long, flowing hair, the combination seemed kind of weird, at least to Chen Mu.

Chen Mu put his mask with two red crosses back on, and Xiaobo dropped his jaw in surprise. “Whoa! Boss, you carry two masks around?”

Chen Mu ignored him. Xiaobo can be so annoying sometimes…

They headed to the card store.

“Oh!” Janet was pleasantly surprised to see Chen Mu and quickly walked to his side. “I did not expect you! No wonder I am in such a good mood today! It’s wonderful to see you!”

The other salesgirls were stupefied at their supervisor’s attitude. It was rare for her to be so enthusiastic when serving customers.

Xiaobo looked at Chen Mu with a suggestive expression, silently winking at him. If one were to walk closer to him, one could hear him mumble, “What terrible taste. Miss Sue is far better…”

In the eyes of the salesgirls, Xiaobo looked like a true expert! Look at the light swinging gently like a pendulum behind him! They didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t look like the work of a normal card artisan. The supervisor didn’t even give them a look, and they quickly prepared tea and served the customers with their best hospitality. Xiaobo stopped mumbling and turned his attention onto the pretty salesgirls, his eyes full of enjoyment.

“Grand master, what do you need this time?” Janet asked respectfully. She was glad the gold card she had gifted him last time had not been in vain.

“Hmm. I need some card and card appliance materials.” Chen Mu handed her a one-star fantasy card that listed everything he needed.

Card appliance materials? Janet’s eyes twitched a little. Card appliances had only gained traction in the last few years. The most famous of them was Faya’s battle shuttle car. Could he be an expert in card appliances, as well?

Janet took the fantasy card and went over the checklist. She glanced at the materials list and exclaimed in surprise, “Oh, my! You’re an expert in card appliances, too?”

Chen Mu looked at Janet in surprise. The shock in her voice seemed to mean something, and the stresses in her tone seemed unnatural. He was doubtful, but he nodded and answered, “Yeah. I know a thing or two.”

“Please wait a moment.” Before finishing her sentence, she had already turned and run out of the room. Looking at her hasty figure, Chen Mu was curious. From what he remembered, Janet was a career woman who cared a lot about etiquette; she wouldn’t lose her composure like that. He pondered it for a bit but couldn’t find the reason.

After a while, Janet rushed back. A displeased voice followed behind her, shouting, “Miss Janet, I severely object to your actions! They are obstructing my work! My schedule is very tight; please don’t waste my precious time!”

“Mr. Topster, you’ve spent so much time, yet you’ve had no breakthroughs. I think it’s time we have a different person take charge of this project,” Janet replied without looking back, not forgetting to squeeze in a smile at Chen Mu.

“Miss Janet, I concur that I am not competent enough, but I don’t think anyone in Dongrui can best me in this field!” Topster’s face was beet-red, but his voice was proud and confident. When he saw Chen Mu standing there, however, he was suddenly silent.

Immediately after, the store was filled with his screaming voice. “Oh, god! Grand master! It’s you! I didn’t think I would see you again! Heavens! Did God hear my prayers? The Bomb you made last time was the greatest shock in my life…”

His face was full of excitement, and he wasn’t speaking straight. He abruptly turned and bellowed at Janet, “Miss Janet, I will report your misconduct to the superiors! You didn’t even serve tea to our esteemed customer! This is unforgivable!”

Janet was stunned. Shoot! She had been too excited and had completely forgotten about that! The other salesgirls had seen their supervisor serving Chen Mu, so they had focused on Xiaobo instead, resulting in the awkward situation.

Chen Mu waved his hand. “I’m not here for tea. Please get my materials ready, and do tell me if there are any problems.”

Janet gave Chen Mu a grateful look before she coldly ordered a salesgirl, “Collect all of the grand master’s required materials.” The salesgirl hurriedly took the one-star fantasy card and jogged to gather the materials.

After relaying her orders, Janet faced Chen Mu again and handed him a fantasy card. “Grand master, please take a look at this.” Topster hesitated, but he didn’t say anything.

When it came to technical issues, he was always quick to calm down. Cards were the core technology of cards and card appliances, but the two weren’t exactly the same field. Most card masters would choose to focus on one of them. Those who excelled in card making, especially, usually looked down upon those who tinkered with card appliances, seeing them as an insignificant cult.

Chen Mu took a doubtful glance at the two and took the card from her.

Xiaobo, who was resting lazily on the couch, saw Chen Mu from the corner of his eye. He immediately jumped up and stood straight. Chen Mu was staring keenly at the series of data on the screen, clearly absorbed in reading. Rejecting the desserts brought to him by the enthusiastic salesgirls, he walked to Chen Mu’s side.

“What is this?” he asked in a low voice. Only something extraordinary could make his boss focus so intensely.

“A card appliance.” Chen Mu’s eyes were glued to the screen.

“Card appliance?” Xiaobo was clearly confused.

“Yes; a battle card appliance,” Chen Mu replied plainly. There was a tinge of uneasiness in his tone.

“A battle card appliance?” Xiaobo became excited. “Just like Faya’s battle shuttle car?”

In the battle against the Federation Comprehensive Academy, Faya’s battle shuttle car had attracted everyone’s attention with its terrific performance. From that time onward, people had started to place importance on card appliances.

“No.” Chen Mu shook his head and added, “This is much more powerful than the shuttle car!”

Xiaobo was dazed, and it suddenly hit him. He naturally knew how terrifying the battle shuttle cars were. Without Hertha’s card appliance traps that had been laid beforehand, it would have been hard to tell the outcome of the fight against the Downstream Alliance. The battle shuttle car had been the strongest battle card appliance so far. But his boss now said that card appliance was even stronger, which shook him to his core. Battle card appliances were trump cards that could change the federation’s situation!

Chen Mu was also quite shocked! The fantasy card was a copy of an original. A huge amount of data was listed on it in a strange format. Other than that, there were many diagrams of the components. The format seemed to be chaotic and difficult to decipher. Plus, there was a ton of data and explanation, which made it even more confusing. However, a card appliance expert could potentially feel the hidden sequence within.

“As expected from a grand master! With just a single look, you can tell what it is! It’s called the Power Glove. I exhausted my energy, but I still couldn’t figure out the meaning of the data.” Topster was filled with admiration for Chen Mu. Since receiving the card, he had only figured out the usage of the data on it, but Chen Mu understood with just a glance. The difference in their abilities was clear as day.

“Power Glove…” Chen Mu mumbled. Beneath the mask, he had a terrified expression. The equations no one understood were familiar to him! He had seen similar equations in the underground city!

From his discovery of the underground city until his departure from there, it had never unveiled its true face. Who had built it? Why did it exist? He couldn’t even find a single record in history vaguely related to it. Chen Mu could never forget that the technology in the underground city was completely opposite of the federation’s. Most of his knowledge of card appliances had been gained there.

However, the technology required to manufacture a Power Glove was more advanced than what he had learned there! He hadn’t been there for a long time, so he hadn’t learned many of their technologies. But he was confident that the data on the fantasy card was genuine! It was definitely from the underground city!

Did something happen to Alfonso and the others? Chen Mu’s heart was suddenly dangling. Although the underground city had impregnable defenses, the Moqi Clan was in its weakest times.

“Where did you get this?” Chen Mu asked Janet plainly.

Xiaobo could feel the goosebumps on his skin! He was familiar with his boss’s character, so he could sense the danger in his tone! Anyone who knew Chen Mu well, like Bogner, Xi Ping, or Jiang Liang, could also do that.

Boss, something’s not right!